Business Contracts

Sometimes referred to as a civil offense, fraud, like criminal offenses, is made up of a material element - deception or lies - and a moral element - the intention to deceive. As one of the main types of defect in consent, it is similar to mistake, in the sense that it constitutes an “induced mistake”, and to duress, in the sense that it is a morally reprehensible act. Since the reform of the law of contracts, Articles 1137 to 1139 of the Civil Code have covered fraud, incorporating the case law solutions developed in application of former Article 1116.

131. Fraud